


it's the way we are together, wanna feel like this forever

by jichaeng



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 22:54:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20415637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jichaeng/pseuds/jichaeng
Summary: the majority of this was written betwen 1 and 4am. so yeah. maybe the longest thing ive wrote so far idk. pacing might be weird. stars are for time skips? i think.





	it's the way we are together, wanna feel like this forever

**Author's Note:**

> the majority of this was written betwen 1 and 4am. so yeah. maybe the longest thing ive wrote so far idk. pacing might be weird. stars are for time skips? i think.

The final rehearsal for the play finally complete, albeit with a few too many mistakes for anyone to feel truly comfortable, the drama club members begin to disperse, everyone departing in different directions until the hall is near empty.

As the director, Jeongyeon likes to stay until the room is clear, last minute advice and tips at the ready for anyone who comes near. As her self-designated best friend Nayeon, of course, feels the need to stay with her. It helps that she's the lead and nobody finds her extended presence abnormal, assuming she has her own things to discuss with the director. Pretending that they don't know each other, haven't been friends since they were three and lived in the same neighbourhood all their lives, has been one of Nayeon's most successful acting projects. 

There's a reason behind it obviously, the two of them afraid the other members will accuse Jeong of being biased rather than just admitting to themselves that Nayeon keeps getting lead roles because she's just that much better than them. Drama kids can be awfully spiteful at times so sacrifices must be made and if those sacrifices means she gets to pretend to hate Jeongyeon and insult her at any given opportunity then… well isn't that just further proof of how great an actress she is?

Her performance today hadn't really showed that though, mind too preoccupied with the mark on her wrist, the flower that had begun blooming despite the fact she's still too afraid to even begin to converse with the object of her affections.

"You were distracted today" is all Jeong says when they're finally alone. It's a statement not a question but Nayeon feels the urge to answer anyway.

"I have things on my mind" (an understatement)  
She does though, it's true, lines and cues and directions she's memorised overshadowed by the petals beginning to flourish on her wrist.

"Any reason?" Jeongyeon asks, tone lighter than she'd expected, genuinely curious eyes lingering long enough that she can catch the glint of worry hidden in them.

"Not much," she mumbles, scratching slightly at her wrist as she worries, fingers catching the edge of her sleeve and pulling it up cautiously, alert ears catching the small gasp from her friend as she shows off the newly bloomed bud she's been so busy bothering over, "just this."  
Jeongyeon hums at this, hesitantly reaching out, waiting for the nod of confirmation before she presses cold fingers against the mark on her wrist, fingertips softly tracing the outlines of the barely protruding petals.

"You know who it is?"

Nayeon nods, turning away as she does, preparing to run, "Chaeyoung."

"My baby fave set designer Chaeyoung?" a nod. "Hmph. I see." Jeong crosses her arms, a fake stern expression settling on her face as she continues, "you better be good to her or else."

Nayeon laughs at the words, having heard jeong give the exact same line to several of her previous prospective partners, "Isn't this the wrong way around?"

"No. Chaeng is a good kid. I'm glad it's her." a tilt of her head and cheeky smile are directed her way as she continues, "Guess now you've finally got to actually talk to her."

"Hey don't mock me!" Nayeon's indignant response echoes off the walls in the empty room, "you're just as much, if not more, of a useless gay as me"

"You have no proof of that."

"Yeah I do! That time we were literally dating and you didn't even realise or when Jihyo confessed to you and you said you were glad she thought you were such good friends or when that girl in the cafe flirted with you and you spilled scalding hot coffee all over yourself or -"

☆

Jeongyeon is absolutely ecstatic at how well the play had gone. Nayeon especially had performed wonderfully, none of the mistakes she'd made during rehearsal daring to appear today. She hadn't even got distracted by Chaeyoung, who was sitting in the front row to watch her set pieces in action, which was truly an outstanding feat.

So yeah, maybe Jeongyeon claps a little louder for slightly longer than she should, the only thing stopping her from continuing forevermore being Nayeon's glare as she walks off stage.  
The light lilt of laughter to her left draws her attention next, eyes darting to catch sight of a girl who, even from the corner of her eyes, is so shockingly beautiful its hard to believe she really exists.

Then their eyes meet and Jeongyeon's jaw drops in awe at the sight of the gleaming bright smile that greets her, causing her to drop back into her seat, cheeks flushing brighter than she'd thought possible.

She's regained her senses, mostly, by the time the theatre hall is all but cleared out, only having to sidle past a few hovering patrons gushing praise in order to slip backstage in pursuit of the play's star. 

She finds the older girl standing just to the side of the stage door, watching not so subtly as Chaeyoung directs the stage crew in correctly disassembling set pieces. It's all too easy to surprise her, a mere tap on the shoulder gaining a shriek in response that's more than worth the pain she receives in return from a heel jabbing into her foot.

"Congrats on not fucking it up" she says when Nayeon's shrieking turns into a pouty scowl upon registering her presence.

"Don't you mean congrats on being the greatest actress to ever bless the halls of this accursed academy?" Nayeon replies with a shove.

"Nah, I don't feel the need to lie to you" Jeongyeon jokes, Nayeon ramming into her side in response, causing the conversation to devolve into a tussle that's all too common between the two of them.

Jeong has Nayeon in a headlock, spare hand messing up carefully arranged hair, when they're interrupted by a familiar sound.  
It's the laughter from before, the girl it originated from lounging against the wall as Chaeyoung eagerly dashes over to greet her.

Jeongyeon, of course, lets go immediately, not wanting to cause Nayeon even more embarrassment in front of her crush than she'd already caused herself.

Chaeyoung notices Nayeon's presence almost right away, words of praise about her performance rushing forward instantly, incessantly, only interrupted by a stammered thanks in return.

Jeongyeon leaves them to it, sidling over to the wall and leaning beside the other girl as they watch on with shared expressions of amusement. The conversation before them runs in a circle of carefully exchanged compliments, a comfortable silence between the two observers.

That is until Jeongyeon remembers the project that she and Nayeon were supposed to hand in by midnight that was nowhere near finished, the two of them too busy preparing for the play to give it a second thought. So she rushes the two of them away, quick apologies spurted out to Chaeyoung for the interruption and nothing but a hurried "see you" said to the girl with the cute laugh.

☆

The only thing that could possibly make this terrible day any better for Jeongyeon is coffee.  
She had stayed awake until 4 am finishing an assignment, only to realise wasn't even due for another week. Then her 8am class had been moved so, after walking halfway across campus to it she had to trudge all the way to the other side of the campus where the class was actually being held. The teacher had dared to get mad at her for her tardiness despite not even sending out a warning email about the moving and had given her an additional assignment.  
Due tonight.

That brings her to now, half eleven, standing outside her favourite cafe staring at a sign that say it's closed for renovations or some other reason. 

Wonderful.

There's another cafe nearby, she knows this from her late walks on sleepless nights, but she's a loyal customer (mostly thanks to the cute barista with an adorable accent that always flirts with her) so has not visited it yet. But if betrayal is what it takes for her to get good coffee then she supposes it must be done.

It's not a long walk, only an additional five minutes away but the path is littered with lounging students conversing in the middle of the street that makes it hard to navigate. Once she reaches the shop she can tell even by the exterior that its slightly more expensive than she's used to. Cursive signs and shockingly clean black tables surrounded by bright red booth like seating greet her alongside the familiarly bitter scent of coffee when she enters, eyes dashing around absorbing the decor. 

In her state of distraction she somehow manages to walk directly into a chair, sending her stumbling forward too far and crashing into a taller girl at the back of the queue. Apologies spill from her tongue unprompted as she straightens up, a familiar laugh stopping her in her tracks as she finally makes eye contact with the girl she's so rudely crashed into.

"Hi again," the girl greets, voice somehow sounding more perfect than it did during laughter, a blinding smile on her face, "I'll accept a coffee as apology if you're offering."

Jeongyeon stammers and stutters, a barely audible "of course" emerging as she reflects on how terribly coincidental this is. 

"Tzuyu" the taller girl, Tzuyu(?), says as they inch closer to the counter.

"I'm Jeongyeon?" she replies hesitantly, voice laced with confusion.

Tzuyu laughs again, raising an eyebrow at her, "I was telling you the name to put on my order but I appreciate the introduction nonetheless."

Luckily they've reached the counter by now and Jeong is saved from having another chance to risk embarrassing herself.

They settle into a table together at the far corner, Jeongyeon follows Tzuyu's lead, hesitantly sipping on her drink as she frantically scans her mind for something to say that isn't some variation of "you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

Tzuyu is the one who ultimately saves them from the awkward silence they're drowning in with a , " you know Nayeon right?"

The line of questioning throws Jeongyeon for a second until she remembers how close the other girl had been with Chaeyoung last time they had met and she just nods.

"Chaeyoung likes her," Tzuyu says it so matter-of-factly that Jeongyeon chokes on her laughter, barely saving herself from spitting the coffee out of her mouth at the last moment as Tzuyu continues, "she says Nayeon's been hiding her mark lately though?"

Ah, she's enquiring about this, clearly concerned for her friend and whether the crush she had held for however long was unrequited or not, "It's bloomed," she confirms, nodding at Tzuyu's inquisitive look, "for her."

"That's a relief," a sigh slips from the younger's lips, "I've been dealing with her panicking about it for the past few weeks. It's getting tedious" Despite the lightheartedness of the words she can see the relief that spreads across her visage. It’s understandable. She’s heard tale of folks who’s marks had bloomed for someone who had not reciprocated, it's a thing near everyone worries about yet barely happens but when it does it can be devastating.

She’s sure they’re both equally grateful that both of their friend’s feelings are reciprocated.

All they had to do now is actually get them to tell each other.

☆

The two of them crash into each other more often after that, most frequently at the cafe. Nayeon’s suspicious about it at first, knows Jeongyeon is stubborn and doesn’t change her routine too easily. The renovations at her usual place being finished weeks ago, yet she had not spotted her at the familiar haunt in quite a while.

That only heightens the older girl’s curiosity though, making it easier for Jeongyeon to convince Nayeon to come with her, hoping it will get her to stop being so bothersome. If it just so coincidentally happens that Tzuyu mentioned bringing Chaeyoung then… well that’s just a bonus.

Jeongyeon tries to act casual when they enter the cafe. Tries being the operative word. Nayeon’s the actress of the two and its evident by the way how badly it goes, too busy trying to feign nonchalance but only really succeeding in embarrassing herself by tripping over her own feet. That manages to serve as a good enough distraction though, Nayeon not even noticing Chaeyoung beside Tzuyu in their regular corner table until they’re already seated and she’s trapped by Jeong sliding in beside her.

From there it goes about as well as could be expected. Initially Nayeon isn’t even able to look at Chaeyoung, let alone talk to her. The silence is filled by Tzuyu and Jeongyeon easily enough though, the two of them catching each other up on what has happened since they last met, including a not too complimentary story about Nayeon’s attempts to bake cookies that draws a laugh from Chaeyoung and a scolding “hey!” from the subject of the story.

From there it devolves into chaos, endless stories told to the detriment of their respective best friends. Everything from three year old Jeongyeon’s attempts to fight a snail to Chaeyoung falling off her bike because she saw a cute girl covered all too quickly.

They’re all so involved in the conversation that when Jeongyeon and Tzuyu leave, both pretending to have forgotten assignments they need to complete, that the other two girls barely pay any attention, too busy arguing over which starter pokemon is best.

Later that day Tzuyu calls her, relating all of Chaeyoung’s ceaseless gushing over how much fun she had via the phone, smile evident in her voice.  
When Jeongyeon catches sight of an almost fully formed flower on her wrist as she hangs up she’s not all that surprised. The pink tinted white petals haven’t completely unfurled yet but she has no doubt they will soon. 

She thinks its been inevitable since the first time she saw the other girl, this whole falling thing. At first sight she had been entranced so of course continued exposure would only heighten her enthrallment.

It’s fine. It’s fine that the thing she had hoped for had happened and the confirmation is nothing if not comforting.

But also there’s the fears that refuse to leave her, worries whispering in her head reminding her of all the terrible tales she had heard tell of.

☆

It’s only a few days after this revelation that they all meet again, this time Nayeon is the one dragging Jeong to the cafe in the hopes that she’ll find Chaeyoung there once again. She’s successful, of course, Tzuyu had told her that Chaeyoung’s been hovering around the cafe more often than even she was.

This time, again, is different. The conversation flows as smoothly as before, Nayoen even daring to throw a compliment or two in her crush's direction. It’s truly fascinating to watch. But Nayeon is also the one who leaves first this time, a last minute reminder from her phone informing her of an assignment for her photography elective. It doesn’t take much prompting from Tzuyu and Jeongyeon to convince Chaeyoung to go with her. The younger girl is very skilled in the arts and it's impossible for Nayeon to refuse her assistance with how terribly she’s been graded so far. 

It’s barely a few minutes before the panicked texts start rolling in. Tzuyu shifts seats to slide in beside Jeong so she can read over her shoulder as well, the two of them laughing as they send words of encouragement to their respective friends.

It’s quiet again for a bit, the two of them sitting in silent anticipation for more updates on the love story they had helped to engineer. Then Tzuyu whoops, shoving her phone in Jeong’s face with a declaration of victory. Chaeyoung had confessed. Which means it was Jeongyeon’s job to go buy them both ice cream.

She didn’t mind though, glad of the extension to the time they got to spend together despite the slight strain it puts on her student savings. Plus the way Tzuyu smiles down at her as she tuts and daintily wipes the melted chocolate ice cream from the corner of her upturned mouth is more than enough to make it worth the cost.

(she’d still be sending Nayeon a strongly worded message later, though.)

She catches sight of Tzuyu’s mark on her wrist when her own arm is swatted away with complaints of being babied covered by the rushing in Jeongyeon’s ears as the sight of the still sealed flower is seen.

Oh.  
It’s not requited.  
Yet? Yet she feels Tzuyu; Beautiful, kind Tzuyu who doesn’t like being babied even though she’s the softest? That Tzuyu is worth trying for.

Even if it doesn’t work out and she has to stay alone forever.  
But thats unlikely and she’s due some luck soon, right?

☆

Jeongyeon finally works up the courage to ask Tzuyu out a few weeks later.

It’s a tuesday, and they’re at the cafe again after being dragged to third (and fourth?) wheel on NaChaeng’s date for the fifth time this week already. 

“Why do they get to be all cute?” Tzuyu complains pouting across the table at her with large puppy dog eyes, “I want a girlfriend who compliments me so much it makes people around us nautious too.”

Jeongyeon’s grand plan for getting the date are scrapped and replaced by the two words she says next. “Date me.”

The look she’s met with in response is one of puzzlement; Which isn’t great but it’s not disgust so she considers it a win.

“A trial date.” She clarifies, receiving a nod of understanding she continues on, “because our friends keep dragging us on their dates so we might as well make them double dates.”

“That's…” a pause, eyes wide as she considers, “not a terribly bad idea.”

“So you agree to it then?”

“I mean. If you’re sure?” Tzuyu is hesitant, cheeks slightly flushed as she scratches the back of her neck, clearly flustered by the forwardness.

“I’m sure,” Jeong smiles, growing more sure of herself, “I hope you’re ready to learn why I was voted as the most dateable in our highschool yearbook.”

“I mean.. I’d clearly be the better girlfriend but okay.” Tzuyu laughs at her, grabbing her hand and dragging her out of the booth, “Let’s go.”

Jeongyeon is stumped for a second because she’s expected to have at least a day or two to prepare but Tzuyu wants to go right now. But she’s never been one to back down from a challenge, quickly taking charge and leading Tzuyu out of the store.

☆

Jeongyeon would like to think the date was rather successful. They had gone to the arcade nearby, the only place she could think of at such a short notice. They’d played almost all the games there, piling up hundreds of tickets at a time.  
She doesn’t let Tzuyu see the prizes though, getting her to wait outside while she exchanges the tickets. She pouts and Jeong almost gives in, worried she’s select the wrong thing, but the look of surprise and absolute glee when she presents Tzuyu with a little stuffed dog plush confirms she’s made the right decision.

(They hadn’t got quite enough tickets and she’d had to bribe an employee but Tzuyu doesn’t need to know that.)

After they had got ice cream at the place they’d visited previously, each getting a tub with three different flavours in. She even managed to refrain herself from commenting on how weird the combination Tzuyu had got was, the slight grimace on her face giving her away and causing Tzuyu to whine at her and force her to try it. It wasn’t that bad admittedly, but still.

She has no idea what to do next though, they’ve been walking aimlessly for nearly fifteen minutes now and she knows they should call it a day but doesn’t really want to leave, too content in the other girl’s company to ever want to leave.

Their hands are interlinked and they’ve almost reached the dorms already, unable to find anything to do to delay the inevitable end of the date. 

A soft kiss is left on her cheek as their hands untangle, Jeongyeon turning to leave before she’s drawn back by a gasp, quickly turned back around and pulled back towards Tzuyu, hands directed towards a bare wrist and the bright red petals that have spread across it adorning the skin and somehow making Tzuyu look even more beautiful, in Jeongyeon’s eyes at least.

Both of their eyes wide open in awe, Jeongyeon pushes up her own sleeve, eyes glistening with tears of happiness as Tzuyu gasps again, fingertips grazing against the petals on her skin.

Their eyes meet and, seemingly simultaneously they lean forwards. Locked eyes exchanged for locked lips, heart beating erratically as she tastes the sweetness on her lips, pulling back only to pepper Tzuyu’s cheeks with kisses as she laughs in adoration.  
Tzuyu laughs too, the light lilt of her voice sounding even better now than when she first heard it, the pure joy and happiness coating it lifting Jeongyeon's heart, pushing it ever closer to the girl she's seemingly destined to love.

**Author's Note:**

> hmu on twitter @seunghayoung and hit me with all that jeongtzu content pls


End file.
